Sulfur & Sulfuric Acid Expert Takeaways

Research evidence excerpt

Sulfur & Sulfuric Acid Expert Takeaways

ASIA-PACIFIC excl. Japan | Chemicals EquityMayResearch11, 2026

We invited Joe, Zhao, an expert from the China Petroleum and

Chemical Industry Federation with over a decade of research experience

in Chemicals. The sulfur-sulfuric acid chain is transitioning from a

historically balanced by-product market to a structurally tighter system,

with geopolitical risks amplifying volatility and increasingly shaping pricing

cycles. Key takeaways on S/D dynamics, pricing outlook and downstream

impacts are summarized below.

Sulfur S/D. Global sulfur supply is highly skewed to the ME, which produces ~35mt sulfur

annually, primarily from gas processing (~27mt) and refining (~8mt). In contrast, China,

US and EU rely mostly on refining: output reflects utilization rates rather than standalone

economics. Demand is heavily linked to sulfuric acid production (~86%), creating strong

vertical integration. Regionally, China is structurally short (~12mt production vs higher

consumption and ~8mt imports), while Africa and SE Asia are import-dependent, largely for

phosphate fertilizer production. ME contributes ~50% of global exports (~16mt). Longer-term,

supply growth is constrained (1.5–2% yoy) given declining refinery utilization in OECD markets

and limited incremental acid gas developments, while demand growth is more resilient (2.5–

3% yoy) driven by fertilizers and energy transition applications (batteries, mining). This implies

a tightening medium-term balance even absent geopolitical disruptions.

Sulfuric S/D. Sulfuric acid supply is largely derivative, with 44% coming from sulfur, 45%

from smelter off-gases and 10% from pyrite routes. This makes acid supply more stable

than sulfur, but still exposed to sulfur tightness at the margin.